“There are no emojis to express how this is SO not a major closure,” Caltrans is stating about a series of upcoming closures of the 101 Freeway—and while we certainly appreciate the government agency’s attempt to rap with us in our youthful vernacular, we think we’ll reserve judgement on just how inconvenient it is (and what emojis we’ll use to describe it) until it happens.
Starting Sunday night and going through the end of August, Caltrans will close all lanes for stretches of the northbound and southbound US 101, around the Echo Park to Hollywood corridor, stretching from Cahuenga to Glendale boulevards. The overnight work will be underway from midnight or 1am to 5am, so keep that in mind as you cruise home from any FYF after-parties. Closures will occur in the wee hours of Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night only.
Even though the authorities are downplaying the seriousness of this closure (it’s not going to be a new Carmageddon, they insist), if you live in the impacted areas you may want to think ahead about alternate routes and expect some delays if you plan to be out late.
The justification for this particular disruption is the installation of high-tech loop detectors under the pavement of the 101 from Downtown to Hollywood. A $19.26 million project, the detectors will provide real-time data to authorities about road conditions and traffic volume, even having the ability to report suspected accidents automatically. Broken up into various small phases like this one, the entirety of the project is projected to be completed by the end of this year.